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View Full Version : Should people have to address work topics vs political topics at work?



donttread
05-03-2021, 11:33 AM
Apparently a software company called Base Camp nicely pointed out that employees need to focus on work not social change on paid company time. In any other time in history this would have been understood, probably without the company pointing it out.
But as you can see from the article below employees left the company on a buyout, like 1 out of 3 of them! Apparently they were concerned that their opinion didn't matter unless it was work related. LOL. Yup that's how it goes.
Thoughts?


https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-third-of-basecamp-employees-quit-after-founders-tell-them-no-politics-at-work?utm_campaign=dw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=124850779&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--80bkoQyEbLO3tUywV31-zjupZWSVuFktk3jCcow6JrXcyQemu7OhdPDg5zFkb-j2SoTSHXd_2qkqjghdXDiY2FdfHRw&utm_content=insiders&utm_source=housefile

FindersKeepers
05-03-2021, 11:50 AM
If I found out @Leanne was among those who took a buyout, somehow, I would not be surprised.

That said, politics and work don't mix. They never have, and a wise worker keep his or her mouth shut.

Peter1469
05-03-2021, 11:50 AM
Keep politics out of the work place.

Chris
05-03-2021, 11:55 AM
Work topics only if you want to maintain a professional attitude about work and coworkers.

Standing Wolf
05-03-2021, 11:58 AM
I'd say chances are extremely good that the two-thirds who are left were responsible for a great majority of the work that was getting done anyway. No great loss.

carolina73
05-03-2021, 12:35 PM
Thinking that someone else's business is your political podium is a mistake. Political harassment has the same effect as sexual harassment in the workplace.

nathanbforrest45
05-03-2021, 12:58 PM
Three topics that should never be discussed in any work environment is politics, religion, and sex. All three will merely lead to hostility and failing productivity.

nathanbforrest45
05-03-2021, 01:00 PM
I'd say chances are extremely good that the two-thirds who are left were responsible for a great majority of the work that was getting done anyway. No great loss.


Its the old 80/20 rule in reverse. 20 percent of the workforce create 80 percent of the toxic environment at the office.

The Booman
05-03-2021, 01:14 PM
The company is better off without them.

RMNIXON
05-03-2021, 01:49 PM
I suppose this is a predictable consequence of "Woke" in the workplace when considered from an employers point of view. At what point does it become a distraction and nuisance unrelated to company work?

As someone who had no problem with occasional political discussions at work as long as all views were respected I can't see that any longer. A friend told me not long ago that current Harassment at work training includes political comments that others may find offensive even if they were not directed at a specific person. And we all know who cries the loudest and most often.

If that level of sensitivity is the case then I would rather leave it at the door altogether.

carolina73
05-03-2021, 02:37 PM
Three topics that should never be discussed in any work environment is politics, religion, and sex. All three will merely lead to hostility and failing productivity.

And the NCAA Basketball Tournament. I forget how much that costs employers ever year but it is billions.

nathanbforrest45
05-03-2021, 02:49 PM
I can see it now.

John White says "I really love my wife"
White Karen says "Isn't she a white woman"
John Replies "Why yes she is"
Karen starts quivering and gesticulating: "That's white supremacy, only showing a preference for white women! I'm going to HR"

The Booman
05-03-2021, 03:11 PM
I can see it now.

John White says "I really love my wife"
White Karen says "Isn't she a white woman"
John Replies "Why yes she is"
Karen starts quivering and gesticulating: "That's white supremacy, only showing a preference for white women! I'm going to HR"

She'll of course be forced to .leave the company when she discovers the head of HR is also white

RMNIXON
05-03-2021, 03:19 PM
“We make project management, team communication, and email software,” CEO Jason Fried wrote (https://www.dailywire.com/news/basecamp-rejects-woke-workplace-we-are-not-a-social-impact-company) April 26. We don’t have to solve deep social problems, chime in publicly whenever the world requests our opinion on the major issues of the day, or get behind one movement or another with time or treasure. These are all important topics, but they’re not our topics at work.”


I suddenly realized where this is coming from.

Just imagine all these "Woke" employees fresh out of Lefty college. A prior experience where they had few requirements to actually learn anything, but left political activism was rampant.

And now they want that same experience in the workplace........





Imagine how much that cost their Parents! :sofa:

Chris
05-03-2021, 03:44 PM
She'll of course be forced to .leave the company when she discovers the head of HR is also white

Except one of the first places Critical Theory spread out from academics to business is HR departments.

carolina73
05-03-2021, 03:55 PM
I suddenly realized where this is coming from.

Just imagine all these "Woke" employees fresh out of Lefty college. A prior experience where they had few requirements to actually learn anything, but left political activism was rampant.

And now they want that same experience in the workplace........





Imagine how much that cost their Parents! :sofa:
Not only that but the employer is expecting them to work! The audacity!

Chris
05-03-2021, 04:18 PM
People used to pride themselves in their work.

DGUtley
05-03-2021, 04:27 PM
Three topics that should never be discussed in any work environment is politics, religion, and sex. All three will merely lead to hostility and failing productivity.

Should we start that rule here?

THERE SHALL BE NO DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO POLITICS, RELIGION AND SEX AT TPF

Chris
05-03-2021, 04:44 PM
Should we start that rule here?

THERE SHALL BE NO DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO POLITICS, RELIGION AND SEX AT TPF


Not in the mod room there shouldn't be. :D

nathanbforrest45
05-03-2021, 07:28 PM
Should we start that rule here?

THERE SHALL BE NO DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO POLITICS, RELIGION AND SEX AT TPF

Excellent idea - If your goal is the utter destruction of the forum!!

donttread
05-04-2021, 02:38 PM
If I found out @Leanne was among those who took a buyout, somehow, I would not be surprised.

That said, politics and work don't mix. They never have, and a wise worker keep his or her mouth shut.

Exactly.

donttread
05-04-2021, 02:47 PM
Thinking that someone else's business is your political podium is a mistake. Political harassment has the same effect as sexual harassment in the workplace.


Yet because idealogy is not directly protected it matters much, much less. These movements never seem to get that the problem is the harrassment NOT the reason the harrasser is doing it. Much like "hate crime" the crime here is the punch/kick/shot not the why of it. Protect us all from harrassment in the work place regardless of the reason the harrsser gives you. Seems simple but instead
Groups merely want to be protected from harrassment while still being able to bad mouth/harrass or discriminate against others.
Another hidden real issue behing the given issue.

donttread
05-04-2021, 03:40 PM
I did not fully read the article I posted. The real story here is the whine about a policy that seems like business as usual to most of us . The below quote is just one example.


Tech journalist Casey Newton (https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1388212468510380034) said about one-third of the company’s roughly 60 employees took buyouts shortly after, with one fuming: “Basically the company has said, ‘well, your opinions don’t really matter — unless it’s directly related to business…’ A lot of people are gonna have a tough time living with that.”


But , but your opinions really don't matter if they don't pertain to work. Who the hell told you differently? I can see maybe needing to be reminded of this esapecially in these times but once reminded the proper answer is some form of "OK, makes sense"
Apparently the company collects weird customer names for laughs. Odd but so what. Soem of them were not over pronouniation or anything but more along the lines of the joke name "Ima, I'm a Horrr" LOL So new employees took offense and got everyone worked up . Get this. People who had participated in the name thing complained!

There is an effort on SM to find those who left Base Camp "places where they can exist" Nobody threatened their exisitance. This is nuts even by Milenial standards

carolina73
05-04-2021, 04:48 PM
Should we start that rule here?

THERE SHALL BE NO DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO POLITICS, RELIGION AND SEX AT TPF
What doe "tPF" stand for?

My wife, friends and customers all thank you for letting me sound off here.

Dr. Who
05-04-2021, 05:30 PM
Apparently a software company called Base Camp nicely pointed out that employees need to focus on work not social change on paid company time. In any other time in history this would have been understood, probably without the company pointing it out.
But as you can see from the article below employees left the company on a buyout, like 1 out of 3 of them! Apparently they were concerned that their opinion didn't matter unless it was work related. LOL. Yup that's how it goes.
Thoughts?


https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-third-of-basecamp-employees-quit-after-founders-tell-them-no-politics-at-work?utm_campaign=dw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=124850779&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--80bkoQyEbLO3tUywV31-zjupZWSVuFktk3jCcow6JrXcyQemu7OhdPDg5zFkb-j2SoTSHXd_2qkqjghdXDiY2FdfHRw&utm_content=insiders&utm_source=housefile

It seems that young people or some young people don't understand that they are not being paid to just to show up and then do as they please on company time and on company channels. Time spent on non-work related topics is theft of wages. Most companies do not begrudge anyone occasional banter, but no company wants their employees wasting vast amounts of company time on anything that is not related to the work that they were hired to do. Employees are free to come up with suggestions on their own time and submit it to management for consideration. If they have specific issues that are affecting their ability to work, they are also free to bring them to management. They are not free to decide on behalf of management what changes need to be made or how to implement any such changes, or practices, nor do they have any right to such expectations unless that is what they were hired to do.

I think this unrealistic way of thinking is the result of the kind of upbringing where parents constantly negotiate with their children rather than telling them what to do and why they should do it.

ripmeister
05-04-2021, 07:16 PM
It seems that young people or some young people don't understand that they are not being paid to just to show up and then do as they please on company time and on company channels. Time spent on non-work related topics is theft of wages. Most companies do not begrudge anyone occasional banter, but no company wants their employees wasting vast amounts of company time on anything that is not related to the work that they were hired to do. Employees are free to come up with suggestions on their own time and submit it to management for consideration. If they have specific issues that are affecting their ability to work, they are also free to bring them to management. They are not free to decide on behalf of management what changes need to be made or how to implement any such changes, or practices, nor do they have any right to such expectations unless that is what they were hired to do.

I think this unrealistic way of thinking is the result of the kind of upbringing where parents constantly negotiate with their children rather than telling them what to do and why they should do it.
Ahhhh. Helicopter parents. They’ve done a disservice to their kids.

Standing Wolf
05-04-2021, 07:43 PM
What doe "tPF" stand for? ....

What I want to know is, why is the "t" always in lower case? The "The" in "The Political Forum" is capitalized, just like the other two words are. So why do people always refer to the forum as "tPF"?

jet57
05-04-2021, 07:45 PM
Apparently a software company called Base Camp nicely pointed out that employees need to focus on work not social change on paid company time. In any other time in history this would have been understood, probably without the company pointing it out.
But as you can see from the article below employees left the company on a buyout, like 1 out of 3 of them! Apparently they were concerned that their opinion didn't matter unless it was work related. LOL. Yup that's how it goes.
Thoughts?


https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-third-of-basecamp-employees-quit-after-founders-tell-them-no-politics-at-work?utm_campaign=dw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=124850779&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--80bkoQyEbLO3tUywV31-zjupZWSVuFktk3jCcow6JrXcyQemu7OhdPDg5zFkb-j2SoTSHXd_2qkqjghdXDiY2FdfHRw&utm_content=insiders&utm_source=housefile

Yeah, I heard that story today. It's pretty bad, but I think you can get the point: it'll never work (haha).

nathanbforrest45
05-04-2021, 08:20 PM
What I want to know is, why is the "t" always in lower case? The "The" in "The Political Forum" is capitalized, just like the other two words are. So why do people always refer to the forum as "tPF"?
Its sort of like that Twizzler's commerical where the guy says "There is always something I wanted to know. Why can't I wear white after Labor Day". Eat a twizzler, maybe it will bring understanding!

nathanbforrest45
05-04-2021, 08:22 PM
Yeah, I heard that story today. It's pretty bad, but I think you can get the point: it'll never work (haha).
What won't work? The idea that work is work and political opinions do not improve the work environment or the quality of the product?

jet57
05-04-2021, 08:27 PM
What won't work? The idea that work is work and political opinions do not improve the work environment or the quality of the product?

No sense of humor.

donttread
05-05-2021, 05:53 AM
It seems that young people or some young people don't understand that they are not being paid to just to show up and then do as they please on company time and on company channels. Time spent on non-work related topics is theft of wages. Most companies do not begrudge anyone occasional banter, but no company wants their employees wasting vast amounts of company time on anything that is not related to the work that they were hired to do. Employees are free to come up with suggestions on their own time and submit it to management for consideration. If they have specific issues that are affecting their ability to work, they are also free to bring them to management. They are not free to decide on behalf of management what changes need to be made or how to implement any such changes, or practices, nor do they have any right to such expectations unless that is what they were hired to do.

I think this unrealistic way of thinking is the result of the kind of upbringing where parents constantly negotiate with their children rather than telling them what to do and why they should do it.


Exactly and they will put that occasional banter , which is part of havibng fun at work, in danger because they have no idea where to draw the line.

Retirednsmilin308
05-05-2021, 07:39 AM
Should we start that rule here?

THERE SHALL BE NO DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO POLITICS, RELIGION AND SEX AT TPF


Just cats, kittens, dogs and puppies. I second the motion.

Standing Wolf
05-05-2021, 08:25 AM
Just cats, kittens, dogs and puppies. I second the motion.

Yeah, but then you have the member who thinks that all mixed-breed dogs should be destroyed...so there's no avoiding controversy and dumb opinions regardless of how strictly you draw the subject matter barriers.

nathanbforrest45
05-05-2021, 10:10 AM
No sense of humor.
Better than having no sense at all.

Any you are right, I have no sense of leftist humor that never seems that funny.

nathanbforrest45
05-05-2021, 10:12 AM
Yeah, but then you have the member who thinks that all mixed-breed dogs should be destroyed...so there's no avoiding controversy and dumb opinions regardless of how strictly you draw the subject matter barriers.

Purity in the breeds. Its the only way.

Retirednsmilin308
05-05-2021, 08:17 PM
Yeah, but then you have the member who thinks that all mixed-breed dogs should be destroyed...so there's no avoiding controversy and dumb opinions regardless of how strictly you draw the subject matter barriers.

...and some people wake up in the morning and go actively seeking out something to argue about. We have all seen that type....even long before the internet.

With the addition of the internet it is Christmas each and every day or them.